Necropsy - **GRAPHIC pictures** - diagnosed! Ovarian cystadenocarcinomas

[igotchickens]

So between the two prevailing suggested diagnoses here: cystic echinococcosis and "cancer" in general, I'm going to go with cancer. This may be due in part to my own being in denial that it could be something my other chickens or my family could get

, but I do have at least some scientific reasoning to go along with my decision.

First, I don't think the cysts I saw in my hen look close enough to the ones in the echinococcosis picture posted here in the forum. Could be because I was up close and personal with them and the picture maybe doesn't represent exactly what I saw. Secondly, in all the pictures of echinococcosis I came across during research, it looks less and less like it. Here is a video of a live extraction of this larvae. To me it is quite different because they are not connected to each other and there are no veins feeding them and they are white/clear. Could be just one type of this display of cysts, but it's more making me lean away from the diagnosis.

Next, among my research

, I came across a few pictures that represented exactly what I saw in my hen. For those who don't want to click on the link, it's a study done by North Carolina State University College of Veterinary Medicine on the Pathology of Older Laying Hens. Picture number 6 is the one that perfectly mimics what my hen had. It's large cystadenocarcinomas - ovarian tumors. If there were a prize I'd give it to ten chicks

Here is the link to the report: http://www.cvm.ncsu.edu/dphp/phm/documents/AVMA2005.pdf and here is the page which led me to the report: http://www.cvm.ncsu.edu/dphp/phm/research.html

 

[Araucana16]

Fascinating.

I now feel strange, since everyone says how graphic the pictures are, and they were of no concern to me...

I have absolutely no idea what it is, but my very first thought was internal laying.

 

[igotchickens]

Fascinating.

I now feel strange, since everyone says how graphic the pictures are, and they were of no concern to me...

I have absolutely no idea what it is, but my very first thought was internal laying.

Don't feel strange! I'm the original poster and put that it was graphic though I didn't really find it all that disturbing. I felt it polite to give a disclaimer though, for those with weak stomachs poking around the threads.

 

[vintagegem]

Source:http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/216432-overview
Cystic echinococcosis (CE) is the larval cystic stage (called echinococcal cysts) of a small taeniid-type tapeworm (Echinococcus granulosus) that may cause illness in intermediate hosts, generally herbivorous animals and people who are infected accidentally. Ultrasonographic appearance of echinococcal cysts is seen in the image below.
WHO Informal Working Group on Echinococcosis standardized ultrasound classification of echinococcal cysts. Image courtesy of World Health Organization (WHO).
Three other species are recognized within the genus Echinococcus, and they may also develop in the human host and cause various forms of echinococcosis (hydatidosis). E granulosus is discussed separately from the other 3 species, notably Echinococcus multilocularis, which causes alveolar echinococcosis, because of marked differences in epidemiology, clinical features, diagnosis, and treatment.
In the normal life cycle of Echinococcus species, adult tapeworms (3-6 mm long) inhabit the small intestine of carnivorous definitive hosts, such as dogs, coyotes, or wolves, and echinococcal cyst stages occur in herbivorous intermediate hosts, such as sheep, cattle, and goats. A number of other suitable intermediate hosts, such as camels, pigs, and horses, are involved in the life cycle in many parts of the world.
In the typical dog-sheep cycle, tapeworm eggs are passed in the feces of an infected dog and may subsequently be ingested by grazing sheep; they hatch into embryos in the intestine, penetrate the intestinal lining, and are then picked up and carried by blood throughout the body to major filtering organs (mainly liver and/or lungs). After the developing embryos localize in a specific organ or site, they transform and develop into larval echinococcal cysts in which numerous tiny tapeworm heads (called protoscolices) are produced via asexual reproduction.
These protoscolices are infective to dogs that may ingest viscera containing echinococcal cysts (with protoscolices inside), mainly because of the habit in endemic countries of feeding dogs viscera of home-slaughtered sheep or other livestock. Protoscolices attach to the dog's intestinal lining and, in approximately 40-50 days, grow and develop into mature adult tapeworms, once again capable of producing infective eggs to be passed to the outside environment with the dog's feces.
Because humans play the same role of intermediate hosts in the tapeworm life cycle as sheep, humans also become infected by ingesting tapeworm eggs passed from an infected carnivore. This occurs most frequently when individuals handle or contact infected dogs or other infected carnivores or inadvertently ingest food or drink contaminated with fecal material containing tapeworm eggs

Ummmm, seriously rethinking my decision to start a chicken flock now!

 

[pwand]

Ummmm, seriously rethinking my decision to start a chicken flock now!

Chickens are lots of fun, you would be missing out.

 

[Araucana16]

Chickens are lots of fun, you would be missing out.

x2 I'm going through withdrawl! I can't wait until April...

 

[igotchickens]

Ummmm, seriously rethinking my decision to start a chicken flock now!

Don't let it discourage you, just deworm your flock to give yourself peace of mind. I use Valbazen oral injections once a year - 2 doses separated by 10 days

 

[pwand]

So between the two prevailing suggested diagnoses here: cystic echinococcosis and "cancer" in general, I'm going to go with cancer. This may be due in part to my own being in denial that it could be something my other chickens or my family could get , but I do have at least some scientific reasoning to go along with my decision.

First, I don't think the cysts I saw in my hen look close enough to the ones in the echinococcosis picture posted here in the forum. Could be because I was up close and personal with them and the picture maybe doesn't represent exactly what I saw. Secondly, in all the pictures of echinococcosis I came across during research, it looks less and less like it. Here is a video of a live extraction of this larvae. To me it is quite different because they are not connected to each other and there are no veins feeding them and they are white/clear. Could be just one type of this display of cysts, but it's more making me lean away from the diagnosis.

Next, among my research , I came across a few pictures that represented exactly what I saw in my hen. For those who don't want to click on the link, it's a study done by North Carolina State University College of Veterinary Medicine on the Pathology of Older Laying Hens. Picture number 6 is the one that perfectly mimics what my hen had. It's large cystadenocarcinomas - ovarian tumors. If there were a prize I'd give it to ten chicks    Here is the link to the report: http://www.cvm.ncsu.edu/dphp/phm/documents/AVMA2005.pdf and here is the page which led me to the report: http://www.cvm.ncsu.edu/dphp/phm/research.html

Great website. Looks like you have your answer. This site can be so educational, thanks for sharing.